Falling Star
by tilinelson2
Summary: A romantic moment between two Phantasy Star II characters that sparked an "almost love story".


Kain was examining the ceiling of the upper floor in Rolf´s home. "_Whire is da damnid attic dour? Rulf shulda show m'it_" Kain was carrying a laser rifle in his hands. _"Dat a-damnid rifle had a-jammid, shuks! I niid those touls to fix it." _Kain looked up for a couple of minutes, then he finally found it. "_Aha! Thire is it-a! I´m feiling lik' a fuol, I´ve checkid'it a-four times bifore..." _Kain used the rifle to pull down the attic door handle. As he opened it, the aluminum ladder descended with the door. Kain climbed up the stairs. The attic was completely in the dark. Kain stumbled on some boxes while looking for the light switch and almost lost his balance.

"Damnit!" Kain let the laser rifle fall on the floor. He heard a soft noise of something ruffling on the stainless steel floor and immediately turn his head to see. His eyes met a girl lying on the floor. Though he couldn´t see very well in the dark, he immediately recognized the girl as being Nei. His heart started beating faster.

"Uh-oh, it is a-Nei ovir thire! Hullo, Nei!" Kain was clearly embarrassed.

"Oh, Kain?" Nei turned her head to see him. She was lying on the floor over an electric blanket, in silence, looking through the translucent high-resistant carbon window on the houses' roof.

"Howja? Sorry for a-disturbin' ya. I thought thire was noone'else hire." Kain was trying to look natural, but his gaze transpired his embarrassment.

"Oh, Kain, don´t worry..." Nei grinned at him.

"Well-a... I... was... justa' lookin' for a-touls yer brodir has told me they wire thire. Dontchwanna disturb ye." Kain was looking down, avoiding Nei's eyes, and pointed to random directions, trying to overcome or at least conceal his embarrassment.

"Oh, Kain, no problems, feel yourself at home. You are never disturbing me." Nei seemed happy to see Kain and chuckled at his funny manners.

"Well..." Kain was unsure. "_Damnit! I alwais wishid Icoulda a-hav' some frie time with Nei, but now I justa donta know wha'to say... I wish I hadda spint more-a-time hangingaround wiv de boyz and girlz instiad ova spending ma time wita damnid machinezz! Now I would a-have de niidid expirience!" _

Kain looked at Nei and his eyes betrayed that he liked what he was seeing. She was wearing a white satin summer nightgown, which revealed a generous part of her legs. Though she looked gorgeous, there was some innocence in her air that made most of the men not think of her as an attractive woman. Kain was clearly an exception. He had joined the group mostly to spend some time with Nei.

"Wha... what are ye doin' a-Nei?" Kain released the words as if he was expelling something clogged in his lungs.

"I´m just looking at the sky." Nei seemed calm and collected. Her tone was very sweet.

"Stargazin', eh?" Kain started feeling more confident and shortened the distance between him and the numan girl.

"Yes. You know, Kain, I was seated here, looking at the starts, wondering if each of the other stars have planets, with people living in these planets, just like us." Nei´s mood was both dreamy and inquisitive.

"Well, a-Nei..." Kain seated beside Nei. "I a-think sume of thize planits may a-have piople livin' in them." Kain was feeling more comfortable with the chat, as he was comfortable with the science subject.

"I wonder if there is a place like this planet. People living like us. I wonder if there is a place... where... people... don´t suffer any kind of prejudice. Where people don´t care about the shape of your ears..." Nei's mood changed to sad.

"Oh... Nei..." Kain shyly put his arm around the numan-girl. He was anxious, fearing the rejection of the girl, but she accepted his embrace.

"I often get myself stargazing and thinking about those existential questions. Well, you know, Kain, it has not been easy for me." Nei stared deeply into Kain´s eyes. "Though I look like a teenager, I´m just one year and a half. You know, it is too much for me to learn in such a short time. My brother, for example, is very mature at 18, but we often see guys in their 30s who still act like fools, like children. Imagine how hard is to mature in just one year and a half. There are many things I don´t understand... there are many things I didn´t grasp yet, not even scratched the surface, but I feel I should. I have to make most of my time while I try to live a regular girl´s life."

"Yeah... that is not easy." Kain was laconic and somewhat impressed to learn that Nei was worried with such complex questions. "_Looks like shezz talkin' o- me. Oh, well, I a-am 20 but I´ve nivir hada meaningfoul rilation wita girl...I donta thinka-am ready... I a-hope Nei is not-a -ixpirienced in luv, so I don luk lik-a-fool... Now that I a-learnid she'z kinda intellectual type, I a-am mure in luv with her than evar..."_

_ "_You know, Kain. I´m somewhat hopeless..." Nei leaned on Kain´s chest. "If I keep aging at this rate, I don´t think I´ll live more than 10 years. I cannot hope for much in my life. I can't dream of being a mother, raising my children like a common human. I can´t dream of studying and developing my skills in a regular job. I have to live on the edge if I expect to do something of my life. Even so, it is very hard. People have prejudice against me. I can barely go outside. Many times they tried to murder me. Or hurt me with no reason. Just because of my pointy ears, that betray my mixed nature... I don´t intend to be a great achiever in my life, but I wish I could live these few years I'll have as life in peace..." The numan´s reddish eyes were wet. She was staring blankly at a random spot in the attic wall "It is so cruel... I can´t go outside without people yelling at me, threatening me... I´ve never done anything against them... They only respect me when I´m with you all, but mostly because they fear you... My sharp hearing allows me to listen to their hate whispers directed at me..."

"Oh, Nei, it is hard, isn´t it?"

Kain was feeling awful. He wished he could freely confess his love for her to cheer her up, but he thought she would not understand very well. It was hard for him to keep his feelings hidden inside him. "_I a-hav' felled in luv with a-Nei since the firsta time I a-hav siin her... I longid for so long to a-have her soft and a-warma body lain on mine... Oh, Nei, if ye coulda see what´s within ma a-haart now..." _Kain was feeling really moved by the girl´s sad story. He had heard her story from Rolf before, but it was the first time that he heard the story from Nei´s mouth. Besides the added emotional meaning her own account of her woes had, to Kain it was the lament of the girl he was in love, so that meant all the world for him.

"Oh, a-Nei... but we guyzzz considir ye as a girl lika evry other..." Kain was unsure if his words would comfort her or hurt her further.

"I know." Nei turned to Kain with a smile on her lips, making him sigh in relief. "I´m so glad you all accepted me. None of you ever questioned my nature, my intentions, my abilities, my morals. This is the closest I´ve ever felt as being loved and I thank whoever created this universe for this opportunity of feeling accepted."

"_Accepted? Yourr a-loved, Nei... How cannay say a-that to her withou a-soundin' as ifa a-was tryin' to abouse her in this momint of frailty? If only I a-kniw what-to say to a-make her undirstan´ me... trust the pureness ov ma a-luv..."_

Nei resumed stargazing. She surely had many thoughts of her own into her mind. Kain had his own thoughts as well, but more than anything, he wanted to feel the warm and soft body of her loved one in his arms. It was like a dream for him. Though he was unaware whether Nei felt something for him or not, and he considered that she accepted his embrace as a friend, he was happy anyway. Maybe that would be the closest he´d ever get from her, so he just wanted to enjoy the moment. After all, it was the most meaningful moment he had ever had with a girl. And with the only one he really loved.

Nei spotted something in the sky.

"Look, Kain!" Nei pointed to some spot in the sky. "A falling star!"

"A-really?" Kai n was startled and tried to follow Nei´s directions.

"Yes, there! It is so beautiful..."

"Ye can say thata-again!"

"Well, they say we should make a wish when we see a falling star. I wish I could be considered as a normal girl. I wish I could be loved for who I am and never be judged because of my ears, my claws or my sharp animal instincts... I wish I could be truly loved as the woman I am..."

"Yeah..." Kain was feeling uneasy. He loved her as a woman, but he didn´t have the courage to confess her his love.

"Hey, Kain, do you believe in that? I mean, making a wish to a falling star?"

"Well..." Kain was embarrassed. He wanted to be sincere, but without hurting Nei. "They a-say tichnicaully falling starz ar' justa mitiorites a-crossin' the atmosphir..."

"Yet it is so beautiful..."

"It a-really iz..." Kain tightened his embrace on Nei.

"I see you don´t believe in that, Engineer. You are always rational, aren´t you?" Nei giggled playfully at Kain. "But why don´t you try it once? Make your wish! It will not cost you anything. How knows if the gods are not specially listening to you today?"

"Well..." Kain shifted his mood to sad. "Nei..." He was very embarrassed, his cheeks were crimson red. "Maybe they a-wir listinin' to ye. I can-assur ye yer dream a-haz alriady bicom' riality..." Kain released Nei from his embrace and stood up. "As for my a-dream... I a-am sur´ it´ll never a-happen..." Turning back, Kain went to look for the toolbox, as he left Nei staring at him a bit frustrated. "Sorry, diar a-Nei. I really musta fix dat crap rifle for a-tomorruw. Musta get-gouin´"

Kain easily spotted the toolbox in a corner and took it with him, along with the laser rifle he had abandoned near the stairs. Then, he left the room in a hurry, trying to conceal the tears in his eyes from the numan girl. "Later, a-Nei.".

"Later..." Nei´s tone was a frustrated one. She had tears in her eyes too.

Kain climbed down the stairs and pushed the attic door to close it. Carrying the rifle and the tools, he wasn´t really in the spirit for fixing or ultimately wrecking the rifle. He could only think of Nei, her soft body, her sweet scent, her loving gaze... "_Oh, a-Nei, my luv, I wisha a-could tell ye whatz within my haart, dear... Ye a-know... I luv ye... Your deepes´ driams hadalready came true... If only it wazz a-possible to liv' this a-dream together with ye... my luv... If we coulda undirstan' and biliev' my a-feilin'... Believ' dat I luv ye more than ye´ll ever a-know. I luv ye just da way ye are.. I luv ye more for ye being... a-special... I a-know ye'll niid to be a-luv'd more than any common girl... and I a-know I a-can giv' ye all the luv ye diserve, Nei..."_

Nei stood in silence, staring blankly at the sky. She was a bit frustrated that Kain had left her suddenly, for she was really enjoying his loving embrace. But she could understand what he was feeling. Though she was too young and not very experienced in life, there were some things that she knew well. And she knew well when someone was explicitly in love with her. "_Oh, Kain... I wish you´d stay longer... You think I don´t really know your deepest wish, but I know exactly what it is... As the numan I am, I can smell and sense it better than any other woman in this world. And I think you don´t know it, but I´m so glad... It is just that I don´t want you to suffer. If only I knew there was a way out of my sad fate... I know soon I´ll have to face something that will mean my demise... If there is a way, my love, you can rest assured that I´ll personally show you that your deepest wish can and will become true... I swear it."_


End file.
